


Alcohol plays matchmaker

by Plume_Sombre



Category: Free!
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - College/University, Dorks, M/M, Romance, of some sort, traces of makoharu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-31
Updated: 2014-10-31
Packaged: 2018-02-23 10:38:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2544485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Plume_Sombre/pseuds/Plume_Sombre
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sousuke has never thought that alcohol could play a major role in his life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Alcohol plays matchmaker

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hlae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hlae/gifts).



> Hello hlae! I hope you had a fun Inter High. As you can see I've chosen SouRin as the pairing, and I hope it isn't too OoC. It was nice writing from Sousuke's point of view. :)
> 
> The legal drinking age in Japan is 20, and the school year starts in April, so it makes Haruka the oldest (June 30th), then Sousuke (September 14th), Makoto (November 17th) and finally Rin (February 2nd). I made Kisumi legal for the heck of it.
> 
> Enjoy!

**One-shot :** Alcohol plays matchmaker

 

**i.**

When Sousuke hits twenty, he thinks it’s a really bad idea to let Kisumi come to the party that Momotarou organized for his birthday. He doesn’t know the guy very well, but he is a childhood friend of Rin, Makoto and Haruka, so he doesn’t mind much. However, when he sees that there are bottles of alcohol lying around the soda, his eyebrow twitches. Someone has apparently decided to spice things up at this party, and his look lands on Seijuurou and he thinks he might have found the source of the problem. Oh, Sousuke has never drunk alcohol but he will probably have a sip or two in the evening; however there are some people underage here and he really, really doesn’t want to deal with their reckless decisions—he totally try not to imagine Aiichirou half dead on the couch.

“Hey Sousuke, you should drink a bit, that’s some good alcohol here!”

Sousuke turns his head as fast as he recognizes Rin’s voice and his eyes can only widen when he sees his best friend gulping down a small glass of that alcohol like he’s used to it. Rin must have felt the stare and the bewilderment, because he grins and hands a glass to him.

“In Australia the legal drinking age is 18,” he offers as an explanation. “I have friends there who drink.”

“You seem to like it,” Sousuke points out and sniffs the liquid.

Rin chuckles at Sousuke wrinkling his nose when the strong scent enters his nose.

“You end up getting used to it, it’s not half bad,” he says. “Try it! I won’t deny the fact that the first time it’s going to burn your throat like hell.”

“I already have an idea about it…”

Nagisa notices Sousuke with his glass and begins to gather everyone because _‘the birthday boy is going to have his first drop of legal drinking!’_ , which makes Sousuke roll his eyes but he starts to know Rin’s friends by now. He hesitates between slowly drinking and swallowing it whole, but as soon as his throat meets the content his mind makes the logical decision and suddenly he empties the glass in one go. If he has to suffer, he would make it quick. He hears cheers around him while his throat freaking hurts and his face gets hot, and the pat he receives from Rin on the back seems very compassionate.

“Told you so,” Rin laughs.

“Unfortunately I don’t think I can escape all the challenges now,” Sousuke mutters.

He coughs and points to the Mikoshiba brothers who are already filling up glasses and putting them on the table. The fact that Seijuurou lets Momotarou drink is beyond comprehension for Sousuke, but from what he sees he should be worried about himself since he clearly doesn’t know if he can stand alcohol very much, after all. Especially since this is a _strong shit_. The glimmer of joy in Seijuurou’s eyes when he looks at him doesn’t reassure him.

“Sousuke, you should celebrate your adulthood with much more spirit!” he beams. “I’m sure you won’t back down from a challenge! How about you drink the same amount of glasses as there are of legal people? That’s going to be interesting!”

“Ah, Mikoshiba-san, I’m not sure it’s a good idea—“ poor Makoto isn’t even listened to. Sousuke feels bad for him.

“It’s not as if I had the choice,” Sousuke sighs. “I only have… two glasses to drink, right?”

Seijuurou is obviously legal, and Sousuke tends to forget that Haruka is legal too, now. The guy always wears his poker face but right now Sousuke senses that he doesn’t want to participate in this as well.

“Oh, but I’m legal too!” Kisumi pipes in.

Rin _chuckles_.

The first glass goes down relatively easily, since Sousuke still feels the burning sensation from the previous one. Rin stays at his side—he doesn’t quite know if it’s for support or for making fun of him. Next is Haruka, and Sousuke definitely won’t lose to him so he drinks as quickly as he can whereas Haruka takes his time, but he finishes his glass as well. This is where Sousuke starts to feel dizzy and he understands why people shouldn’t drink too fast because damn, is the room supposed to spin three shots after? He deeply sighs, his hands supporting his head.

“I think he isn’t an alcohol person,” Rei says, looking worried. “That won’t do any good if he doesn’t feel good for the rest of the party.”

“Rei’s right Sousuke, I don’t want you to puke and to clean up after that,” Rin half jokes.

Sousuke shakes his head and casts a dark look at Kisumi, who is radiating with his smile. He doesn’t know why, but he feels like it’s going to be a bad idea to give up now.

“That’s okay, there’s one glass left,” he gestures to the alcohol.

Seijuurou gives them the glasses and cheers them on, encouraging Sousuke who firmly stands on his position and holds tightly the glass. Kisumi smirks.

The content of each cup disappears almost at the same time, and when Sousuke sets his on the table, loud cries ring in his ears. Kisumi gives him a thumbs up as if he was congratulating him or something. It felt rather sarcastic, to Sousuke’s mind.

Momotarou bounces to them and _sparkles_.

“Yay Yamazaki-senpai, that’s a good performance! Lots of guys I know can’t drink past three glasses the first time!”

“You’re on the right path, Sousuke!” Seijuurou adds.

When people start to scatter around, giving Sousuke some space, Rin hands him water and smiles.

“Thanks.”

“That’s only the beginning, we’re only half-way in the party,” Rin reminds. “Though they’re going to let you alone for a while to bother Momo.”

Momotarou tries to challenge anyone who would be able to hold a drinking contest. Makoto is of course reasoning him because he’s underage, but Nagisa is more than willing to accept and Aiichirou tries to take the glass of his hands. Sousuke raises an eyebrow and wonders if Momotarou can really be that resistant—he seems to be the kind to, but it never hurts to stay prudent.

“Hazuki is underage too,” he scoffs. “And pretty excited.”

“Well that’s Nagisa, there are things he does against normality,” Rin shrugs.

“You on the other hand seem to hold your liquor very well.”

“Jealous? It’s thanks to experience!”

At this point Sousuke doubts that Rin hasn’t been drinking before eighteen.

“Rin.”

“Hm?”

“… I want to throw up.”

“Oh my god—Shit no Sousuke, get up and go to the bathroom! I don’t care it’s far but—hey I’m not going to clean up!”

 

**ii.**

When they’re both twenty-one, they attend Seijuurou’s farewell party—he is going to finish his studies abroad. It’s another occasion for Rin to show off his drinking ability since Sousuke can’t hold his as proven on his twentieth birthday, and it’s just a matter of time before Seijuurou suggests games involving alcohol (why is he so obsessed with liquor anyway?).

At first it’s just a simple ‘have you ever’.

“Have you ever swum fully clothes?”

With no surprise, Haruka doesn’t drink—always been the first one to strip whenever water is around—but then Rin snorts and drinks. That catches Momotarou’s attention and he can’t help but laugh.

“You wanted to swim that badly? That doesn’t surprise me actually!”

“No, Sousuke wanted to race, but I didn’t have my swimsuit so he forced me to swim with my clothes on,” Rin grumbles.

Everyone stares at Sousuke, who merely shrugs.

“That was a dare. We were thirteen.”

Chuckles rise in the room and the game continues. The next one to ask a question is Makoto, and his question describes him very well: _‘have you ever broken the rules?’_. Sousuke doesn’t know why he asks such a question since he _knows_ perfectly well what kind of guys this group is composed of, and nearly everyone takes a shot including himself, except Aiichirou—sweet Aiichirou who seems afraid to ask awkward questions.

At Nagisa’s question, _‘have you ever cross-dressed?’_ , all former Samezuka high schoolers reluctantly empty the content of their glasses. This earns a burst of laughter and Nagisa wants the details.

“The school festival,” Aiichirou explains. “The swimming club has the tradition of doing a maid café… First and second years have to be dressed as maids, and third years are butlers. This was probably the most embarrassing days of my life.”

“That wasn’t funny at all!” Momotarou whines. “Girls were all laughing and mocking us! The third years were the ones who were looked at…”

“I’m glad I had to do it only once,” Rin mutters.

Sousuke grins. Fortunately he arrived at Samezuka in his third year, so he didn’t have to play the maid. He remembers Aiichirou’s flustered face and adamant protest, as well as Momotarou’s thrashing with the dress. He looks at Seijuurou who seems to keep some good memories of these festivals, since he isn’t growling like the others.

“Do you still have photos of your festivals?” he asks slyly.

“Don’t you dare Sousuke!” Rin reacts instantly, knowing where this is going and flushing accordingly.

“Why not? This can be very interesting!” Nagisa grins. “Sei-san, please tell us you still have photos!”

“I’m sorry but I don’t know where I put the album,” Seijuurou replies. “If I find it, I’ll show you guys for sure!”

Rin and Aiichirou groan while the others—non-Samezuka—look forward to it.

Haruka’s question is unexpected.

“Have you never kissed a man?”

Without hesitation, Sousuke drinks, soon followed by Rin, the Mikoshiba brothers and Aiichirou. Kazuki Minami stares at Sousuke and Rin.

“What?”

“What?” Sousuke deadpans.

“You guys haven’t hooked up since high school?”

Rin chokes with his glass and Sousuke _gapes_. Takuya tries to hide his amusement although he clearly expected this, while the others look as dumbstruck as Kazuki. Haruka in particular has a hard time believing what he hears.

“Why would we have hooked up?” Rin splutters, cheeks getting hot and red.

“Uh guys,” Kazuki blurts out. “That’s like telling us Nanase and Tachibana aren’t together.”

Haruka frowns and Makoto buries his face in his hands, and Rin is looking at them curiously. Sousuke thinks the whole thing is really weird and pointless, but he can’t ignore the rapid pounding of his heart in his chest, and the fact that Rin is affected too doesn’t help.

“I don’t know what makes you think that,” he pronounces. “We’re just best friends.”

His own words don’t sound right in his ears, and that’s probably because he doesn’t truly believe them. He can’t deny the fact he did give some thought about… dating Rin… But that doesn’t mean he should have, like Kazuki is implying; however Rin’s reaction fills something in him and maybe Rin won’t be as negative about it as he thinks.

The issue isn’t forgotten at all but Aiichirou thought it best to leave the topic aside for now and threw a question that quickly eased the atmosphere. Soon the game makes victims, like Makoto who prefers staying sober in case everyone won’t be, Sousuke who follows him in the same state of mind—and because his drunken self is apparently very annoying—, Nagisa is almost drunk and Rin starts to become giddy for he is giggling at a joke made by Momotarou—who seems to be able to absorb dozen of bottles without any problem.

Sousuke also stopped drinking because he knew that Rin would let himself get distracted and enjoy the party at its fullest, which meant getting sorely intoxicated. It’s not as bad as Nagisa, taken care by Rei, but the fact remains the same and someone ought to take him back to the dorms safely.

And as a result, Rin sprawls himself over Sousuke who glares at Kazuki and Takuya, both of them shaking with mirth.

“Don’t you dare making any comment,” Sousuke warns.

“Not even in my dreams,” Takuya retorts with a smile.

“At least we should take a picture!” Kazuki grins.

Sousuke is about to launch onto Kazuki’s phone but Rin’s head is resting on his lap and he can’t make any brutal movement that would hurt him. Settling back with a glare, he opts for grunting and boring holes in the case of the phone.

“I’m not the only one who’s going to murder you guys.”

“Rin is practically passed out, I doubt he’ll remember much tomorrow,” Kazuki points out. “Besides that makes a cute picture!”

Rin chuckles out of nowhere so it draws their attention to him. Sousuke looks down and arches an eyebrow when Rin tugs at his shirt.

“Now that I think about it, that’s true we’re really, really close!” he says. “Not that I didn’t notice before, but if people think we should have been going out since a long time, then maybe we should give it a try. I dunno.”

“You’re drunk Rin, you’re speaking nonsense,” Sousuke mumbles.

Sousuke painfully tries to calm the beating in his chest and he doesn’t even bother looking at Kazuki and Takuya to know they’re saying _‘told you so’_.

 

**iii.**

“I feel like shit.”

“You shouldn’t have drunk so much then.”

“A challenge was a challenge, I couldn’t back off like that. Haru stayed till the end and didn’t look dizzy at all!”

“Nanase didn’t drink half of what you did.”

“Urg at least I’m not hung-over…”

Sitting on his bed, Sousuke stops reading his book and gazes at the ceiling of their dorm. The party extended far in the night and Rin didn’t stay comatose for long before joining back the others. Sousuke as well took again two or three small glasses but that was all; he thought that Rin would have a hangover after everything he swallowed, but it doesn’t seem like it. He gets up and walks to his roommate’s bed and stares at him. Rin gives him a questioning look.

“Does it mean you remember what you said last night?” Sousuke asks calmly.

“I said a lot of crap,” Rin deadpans.

“The part about us dating.”

Rin’s heart skips a beat. His mind races with thoughts, trying to find what exactly he said, and when he remembered it, he looks away, his hand covering his face in a futile attempt to hide. That makes Sousuke a bit nervous and flustered too.

“I might or might not have been in my right mind,” Rin articulates.

“It’s said that we speak the truth when we’re drunk,” Sousuke says softly. “I won’t mind, you know.”

This makes Rin focus on Sousuke again, and the roles are reversed; it’s Sousuke’s turn to look a bit red, and his eyes aren’t as sharp as usual. He absentmindedly rubs his neck.

“We’ve known each other almost since forever, I didn’t want to think we could be more than best friends. What I’m saying is, I’ve _been_ wanting to ask you out, but it could have come weird to you and I know how confused you can easily get. I really like you Rin.”

At this point Sousuke can’t worry about blushing or becoming sappy because Rin crushes him in a hug and he literally feels emotions radiating from him. The motion was so abrupt that e didn’t quite know how to react. He awkwardly returns the hug and pats Rin’s back, different feelings floating inside him ranging from happiness to uncertainty as he tries to discover what the meaning of this sudden embrace is.

“Then we’re both stupid because we _really_ could have hooked up years ago,” Rin grins.

It makes Sousuke’s heart flutter, and the rapid beating isn’t as bothersome as the day before.

“… So we’re officially dating?”

“Yeah, that would be the ideal. I think my heart’s gonna explode.”

Sousuke laughs at the remark and pulls Rin off him, leaning forward to press his lips against his. The little tears in the corner of Rin’s eyes and the embarrassed face he makes give Sousuke a feeling of real joy, as he knows Rin is as happy as him. The kiss only lasts a few seconds, gentle and timid, as if they were afraid to break the other with this small contact, but it’s enough for them for the moment.

And abruptly, Rin falls back onto the bed and groans.

“Damn I shouldn’t have got up like that, I have a headache now…”

Sousuke sighs but smiles, placing a kiss on Rin’s forehead before looking for some aspirin.

Well, as Rin said, alcohol isn’t _half bad_.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it! Feel free to point out mistakes or inconsistencies, I know it isn't the best piece of work. uwu Oh and yeah, headcanon that Sousuke can't hold his liquor at all.  
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
